Another east Mesa condo project is reviving construction efforts amid a gradually recovering economy, attracting a swarm of Canadian and Midwestern buyers looking for a second home.

Coyote Landing, near Crismon Road and Southern Avenue, breezed through its first round of construction and sales in the mid-2000s, completing a clubhouse, fitness center and heated pool, selling all of its initial units and maintaining a waiting list for those yet to be built.

Of the 292 two- and three-bedroom units the community eventually will have, 104 had been completed by early 2007, with brokers working on selling about 65 of the newest.

But when the economy crashed and construction was halted on the rest of the condos, “all of the investors that had pre-purchased had backed out of their contracts because of the downturn in the housing market,” according to Diana Gonzales, a broker for the property.

“From 2007 to 2010, we got through selling the spec condos, avoiding foreclosure and bankruptcy of the community,” she said. “There were a handful of short sales and foreclosures, but it was minimal at our community compared to others.”

In 2011, Gonzales and partner Shannon Aspeslagh began pushing the developer behind the community to look for funding in order to restart construction.

After unsuccessfully pursuing numerous financing possibilities, Mutual of Omaha agreed to fund the construction of one 12-unit building — if Gonzales and Aspeslagh could find 10 buyers who would commit in advance.

Aspeslagh said the two found the 10 buyers, some of whom were existing owners who wanted the upgrades now available in the new builds. The community’s marketing budget was virtually nonexistent, so they relied on modest advertising opportunities and word of mouth.

“Another challenge we had and still do is that, because of the nature of our community, we have a huge hurdle with financing for buyers: 10 percent down, minimum,” Gonzales said.

“Luckily for us and the community, 95 percent of our buyers have been cash Canadian or Midwesterners that are mostly pre-retirement vacation-home owners rather than snowbirds.,” he added.

More than 80 percent of owners at the complex are Canadian, Aspeslagh said.

The brokers now are pre-selling the fifth of 15 buildings, which will contain units spanning about 1,300 square feet.

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